Listen to this articleSaint Peter’s University Hospital announced an increase to its credit rating Oct. 21.
According to the New Brunswick-based health care provider, S&P Global Ratings boosted Saint Peter’s to BBB+ from BBB with a stable outlook.
The Oct. 16 announcement from S&P said the move reflects Saint Peter’s track record of positive operating margins, healthy debt service coverage, and solid balance sheet metrics, including declining leverage and generally stable days’ cash on hand.
The update considers Saint Peter’s as a standalone health organization and does incorporate the mutual agreement between Saint Peter’s and Atlantic Health System not to pursue a planned association, S&P said.
Saint Peter’s Healthcare System CEO and President Leslie Hirsch said the provider was pleased to receive the affirmation from “an objective, third-party organization.”
A 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, Saint Peter’s University Hospital is a member of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. The organization has served Central Jersey for more than 115 years.
‘Saint Peter’s future remains bright’
“S&P objectively assesses our financial health in the context of our Catholic mission and the market in which we operate, taking into consideration the challenges of the ever-evolving healthcare environment,” Hirsch continued. “As one of the few remaining single-hospital health systems in New Jersey, Saint Peter’s future remains bright.
“We will continue to stay focused on providing our patients with the highest quality of care and excellent service, growth, and innovation, while continuing to be good stewards of our resources and keeping our mission at the core of all that we do.”
In 2024, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System completed a multimillion-dollar expansion and modernization of the Saint Peter’s Family Health Center in New Brunswick. According to the provider, this year the facility will support more than 80,000 primary and specialty care visits. In 2023, it opened the new Health and Wellness Center in Somerset.
Meanwhile, Saint Peter’s is also in the midst of another multimillion-dollar plan to expand and update its intensive care and perioperative units at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, as well as the adult ICU at the hospital. Saint Peter’s said it expects to wrap that work in 2026-2027.
